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Hello all this is my review of bassist Christian Mcbride's newest release with his band Inside Straight "People Music". For McBride Inside Straight is the band he assembled to get back to playing swing based all acoustic post bop. That's exactly what this band does,they swing like crazy! There isn't any wild experimentation with electronics,no electric bass,no Fender Rhodes electric piano just an acoustic quintet of some of the music's veterans.
Master drummer Carl Allen who plays on all but two of the tracks here sharing duties with 30yr old rising star drummer Ulysses Owens Jr who appears on track 1. & track 7. The piano bench has also been divided among two of McBrides favorite pianists, one or the other or both have been Christian's pianist of choice for awhile now since at least 2003. The pianists are the veteran Peter Martin who I first encountered playing his butt off on Joshua Redman's fantastic 1996 release "Freedom In The Groove". The other pianist is the 22yr old Christian Sands who plays on track 1 & track 7 with Ulysses Owens Jr on drums which makes up the motor for the Christian McBride Trio. Christian Sands also played smoking piano on Ulysses Owens Jr's debut album
Unanimous
which McBride also plays on.
The sole horn on this outing is veteran alto & soprano sax man Steve Wilson who appeared on this band's debut album "Kind Of Brown". On vibes also returning from the previous album is the young rising star Warren Wolf who's been on the scene the last ten years making a name for himself & recording a few albums under his name,in my humble opinion Warren plays alot like Milt Jackson of the Modern Jazz Quartet. Of coarse Christian McBride is leading the charge from his acoustic bass possessing one of the biggest tones out there with full range clarity from top to bottom,spot on intonation with that Ray Brown bounce to his walking lines. On People Music Christian provides the soloists swinging support as well as first class soloing pizz & arco, in my opinion McBride's playing with the bow is really developing, he possess a unique tone & great intonation. Now onto the music.
The music on "People Music" is all written by either McBride tracks 1,2,5 & 8. Steve Wilson-track 4, Christian Sands-track 7, Warren Wolf track 3 & Peter Martin composed track 6 which accounts for all eight tunes on the album.
The album opens with the medium tempo McBride piece "Listen To The Heros Cry" which opens with a strong vamp set up by bass,drums & piano which has shades of Coltrane's minor key classic "Equinox" except with alot more rhythmic activity from the bass. The melody enters being played in close voicing by the vibes & alto sax, the melody has a bluesy swagger to it & it's not a knotty chops buster rather more sing song,the type of melody that you can sing easily after one or two hearings. The solos are all inspired in my opinion beginning with Wolf's vibes. He's a two mallet player very much in that Milt Jackson vain rather than a sound & style similar to Gary Burton who pioneered the 4 mallet technique,his playing is quick & concise & not to be missed. Wolf is followed by Steve Wilson on alto who takes the most inspired solo on this tune in my opinion really making his alto wail with a nice dark full tone that to my ears is similar to his peer Kenny Garrett. Christian Sands takes a nice solo followed by one McBride's fleet fingered solos.
Track 3 "Gang Gang" composed by Warren Wolf is probably one of my favorite pieces thus far. It opens with a really hip bass & piano unison figure that lays the foundation for the rest of the piece to be built,it's a busy line with a latin lilt that has alot of forward momentum when combined with the drums of Carl Allen. This melody reminds me of something written by Wayne Shorter for his album "Schizophrenia". It's stated by alto & vibes keeping that blues quality that was introduced in the first tune & is a strain that runs throughout the duration of this album, I personally love it & think it helps the continuity of the albums overall flow.
Track 4 "Ms Angelou" is a medium tempo ballad written by saxophonist Steve Wilson who switches to soprano sax for his sole tune of this set. It begins on a hushed note with a beautiful piano intro played by Peter Martin with McBride & Carl Allen backing him. Carl using mallets with his snare drum's snare turned off gets a wonderful African feel & warm thick sound from his snare & tom toms. Soprano & vibes enter together with the melody after the brief piano intro. The melody is introspective with the piano & vibes providing a lush canopy of sound that the soprano nestles in,the bass & piano left hand execute intricate counterpoint. A very nicely written piece.
I'm not going to continue the track by track review because I'd like everyone to pick this up & give it a listen for themselves. I'll close by saying if you own the first album by Inside Straight Kind of Brown you should have no fear in purchasing this album. If you're into the music of the Harald Land & Bobby Hutchinson quintets of the 60s & 70s then you should give this a listen.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 26, 2013
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Top reviews from other countries
J. D. Naylor
People music - Music for people
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 29, 2013Verified Purchase
Mj Elton
Wonderful Playing Throughout
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 23, 2014Verified Purchase
mfjazzfan
Top quality jazz
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 3, 2013Verified Purchase
j.heijdenrijk
ok
Reviewed in Germany on October 28, 2019Verified Purchase
みちくん
最高に良いです。
Reviewed in Japan on October 11, 2013Verified Purchase
